


The Empty Space

by NerdGirlsSquared



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Carmilla - Freeform, F/F, Human Carmilla Karnstein, Theater - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-27
Updated: 2015-01-27
Packaged: 2018-03-09 05:28:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NerdGirlsSquared/pseuds/NerdGirlsSquared
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla Karnstein had always longed to be an opera star. For the past 20 years, she focused on the dream. She finally gets a gig at the Lyric Opera in Chicago, only to fall in love with the surly Master Electrician, Danny Lawrence.</p><p>Expect appearances from Stage Manager Lola Perry, Technical Director/Carpenter Kirsch, House Manager Laura and Props Master LaFontaine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Empty Space

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is born out of some of my experiences working in the Chicago theater scene. It's a twist on a modern AU with mostly fluff and dumb theater jokes. 
> 
> Also, Lawstein because there ain't enough of it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyric soprano, Carmilla Karnstein arrives a bit early and manages to meet some of the crew. Turns out Americans can actually be kind of nice.

Shouldering her backpack, Carmilla reached up to press the small buzzer in the top right of the door frame. The resonating _bbbbzzzzzz_ echoed on the other side of the door. Looking back down at her phone, she saw that she was about fifteen minutes early for the table read. A few moments passed and no one came. Pulling up on her tip-toes, she buzzed again, holding the button down for a good few seconds. Behind her, the rush of the nearby Chicago river mingled with the steady hum of the street traffic. 

She heard a series of quick footsteps and the door lurched backwards. A petite blonde stood there, dressed in a short black dress and pumps. She looked frazzled, holding phone in one hand and propping the door open with the other. 

"Oh Fudge-nutters! The read-through is tonight, right? I forgot you guys were coming. I have to go unlock the other doors." She moved so Carmilla could step into the hallway. Closing the door behind them, she turned and pointed off to the right.

"The main stage is that way - there should be a table and chairs there. Everyone will be there in a bit. I'm Laura by the way." The blonde stuck out her hand with a smile.

Gingerly, Carmilla took it and told her, "Carmilla Karnstein. I'm playing Malwina." 

"Ohhh, you're the fresh blood! This is your first show stateside, right? Our director, Jordan, raved about your audition." 

Carmilla swelled with pride, but kept her eyes politely downcast. It was never good to look like a braggart and sopranos generally had enough of a reputation already. "I'm glad she's so positive. I'm honored to work here, particularly at my age."

Laura nodded, "Yeah, you're young for a lyric, at least around this town. Anyways, I'm the house manager and I'm already behind schedule with a thousand things, so I'll have to let you go." 

She started down the hallway opposite of the stage entrance. Turning she gave a small wave and said, "It was nice to me you!"

Carmilla gave a curt nod- the woman was a little peppy for her tastes. Still, she was friendly enough, and maybe that meant everyone around here would be relatively tolerable. After her time studying at the University of Toronto, Carmilla had gotten familiar with the city's opera scene. This was her first time performing outside of Canada and she was admittedly, a bit nervous. 

Going in the direction Laura had pointed, Carmilla eventually found the backstage area of the theater. There were some larger scenery pieces stored in the wings and the safety curtain was down, so she couldn't see the front stage or the house. It was a huge backstage area, dimly lit with a few portable work lights. Off in the corner was a upright piano that looked like it had seen better days. Since she was early, she might as well get some practice in. Walking over, Carmilla flicked on the music stand light and sat down. Her fingers pressing the keys at intervals, she started to gently warm up her voice, moving from her middle range to the extremes. 

From above her, there was a tremendous thundering noise followed by a sharp cry. "DAM--HEADS!" 

Carmilla flinched and covered her head. A moment passed and she remained unharmed, so she looked up at the access catwalk above her. A mounted projector hung off a pole, dangling loosely in the air. The only thing that had kept the whole thing from crashing down was a length of rope tied to both the light and the pole. 

"Fucking piece of shit Jesus-bolt. I swear to god this fucking sidearms are rusted to goddamn hell!" A woman with bright red hair leaned out over the catwalk, grabbing the rope with her hands and pulled. She hauled the equipment up over the railing, still cursing under her breath. Looking down, she caught Carmilla's eye and blanched.

"Oh fuck, I didn't realize you were down there." She pulled her headphones out and smiled apologetically. "I'd have warned you otherwise. I thought the read through started at 8?"

"It does, I'm just early. Glad you didn't manage to kill me with that thing." Carmilla gestured in the air.

The woman's eyes narrowed, "I take safety very seriously Ms.-"

"Karnstein. Carmilla Karnstein." 

"-Karnstein. Nothing's ever fallen out of the cats on my watch and nothing's ever going to." 

Carmilla smiled. She had obviously struck a nerve. "You know what they say, never say never."

The red head snorted. "It'll be your funeral then."

"If you didn't know I was down here, why'd you even bother to yell?"

The woman laughed. "Habit. See, when you yell "heads" - people duck or cover their noggin. If you yell "look out" they probably look up and lose an eye. It's become instinctual now, you never know who's below you. Case in point."

She disappeared over the side of the rail again and Carmilla heard footsteps above her. Sliding down the sides of the access cat ladder, the woman dropped to the stage floor. Extending her hand, she offered, "I'm Danny. I'm the ME around here."

Carmilla looked at the dirt smeared hand tentatively. She grabbed it and immediately noticed how calloused it was. "Nice to meet you. Again, thanks for not murdering me."

Danny was exceptionally tall and as Carmilla shook her hand, she was struck by the length of her arms. She was wearing a dirt smeared flannel over a tank top with some jeans that had definitely seen better days. Her red hair was up in a haphazard bun and her glasses were slightly askew. Overall, she was pretty cute, in that tomboyish way.

"You know, for a ME, you have a surprising lack of tattoos and facial hair." Carmilla said.

"Ha! I get that a lot. There aren't a lot of women in theater electrics, but there are more in Chicago than you'd think. My assistant's a woman too, Elsie, you'll probably meet her. She runs spot for most of the productions." Danny pulled her hand back.

"I now realize how sexist that sounded." 

"I'll forgive you this time Karnstein. But next time, you better watch out. I'll turn a light out during your big moment." 

Carmilla laughed, "My performance would be so captivating, it'd hardly matter."

Danny's eyebrow rose and Carmilla could tell that she was trying to gauge if what she said was humor or total arrogance. "Hmmm, right."

"Yo. Lawrence. Already trying to seduce the new hottie?" A rough male voice called out. 

Carmilla turned and saw a tall blonde guy wearing cargo pants and a grey hoodie approach. He was holding a coffee mug and a notebook and he looked tired. 

"Quit it _Brody_ \- I was just being nice."

"Nice? I'll pay to see that. And it's _Kirsch_ \- only my mother calls me Brody." The guy stopped in front of them.

"Whatever. You're just jealous because I get all the ladies. Anyways, Carmilla this is Kirsch. Kirsch is our head dunce around here and on occasion, he manages to screw two boards together and call it a set."

He groaned, "Oh come on Danny, cut me some slack. After that damn production of _Billy Budd_ , I thought I had earned some respect from you."

Danny laughed and nodded, "That's fair. You did manage to recreate a 19th century ship on stage, I'll give you that." 

"About damn time." He turned towards Carmilla, "I take it you're in the show? Let me guess... Malwina?"

Carmilla nodded, "The one and only."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I need to go set up some chairs and get the curtain raised for the read-through. See ya ladies." He winked and walked off.

Carmilla looked back at Danny. "People here seem nice. Americans must just have a bad rap."

Danny smirked, "Don't let us fool you. We're actually all terrible people." 

"Yo! Can I get a little help with the curtain Lawrence?" Kirsch called from the left wing. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help." Danny started trotting off towards the right wing. "Nice to meet you Carmilla. Duty calls."

Carmilla waved her off and meandered back to the piano. Maybe this would be alright after all.

*****

Walking into her apartment, Carmilla was hit with the strong smell of stale cigarette smoke. The lodgings were provided by the Lyric for out of town actors, but it was obvious the place hadn't been used in a while. Her nose wrinkled at the stench and she couldn't help but wonder what idiot singer would think smoking was a good idea for their career.

Tossing her keys on the hallway table, she walked though the kitchen to make herself a cup of warm water with lemon. Her voice felt a little strained after the read through. It had gone smoothly over all, and Carmilla had the opportunity to meet her principals, Aaron and Matthew who had also been pleasant. The majority of the production team seemed nice enough and Carmilla had thought their stage manger, Perry was quite capable. She and Jordan, the director, seemed to get along which boded well for a more pleasant production process. 

Her mind kept drifting back to Danny, who hadn't been at the meeting. The woman's easy smile kept appearing in Carmilla's thoughts throughout the table read and she was less than enthused. As a principle, Carmilla had decided to never mess around with fellow cast or crew members during a production. There were enough bad stereotypes about sopranos as it was and romance was profoundly distracting to work. 

Still, it had been a long time since she had dated anyone and as she sipped from her mug, she couldn't get Danny's rough hands out of her mind. 

"Get yourself the-fuck together Carmilla, she wasn't even that pretty," she muttered. That was a total lie, but if she kept telling herself that, maybe she'd convince herself it was true.

She set down her finished mug and headed towards the tiny bedroom. That's what she needed. Her mind was just wandering because she was so tired. A good night's sleep and she'd be ready and refocused for the first vocal rehearsal tomorrow. 

Snuggling beneath the worn comforter, Carmilla set her alarm and turned on some soft music. Rest, all she needed was some rest. The last thing she needed was some stupid infatuation with a glorified stage hand.

It would be fine in the morning.


End file.
